2/3's down, now Asia

Monday, June 5
Actually slept on the plane.  Landed in Kuala Lumpur for a couple of uneventful hours, and then off to Hanoi.  We landed at about 1 pm, and the temperature, a lovely 40 C.  The boys are already questioning how they are going to survive the heat.  At customs, you hand in your documents and passports to the officials, and then go and sit down.  There is a TV screen above their work area, and when they are ready for you they call your name and put your picture on the screen.  Thank goodness for the screen, as their pronunciation of our names is as good as what our pronunciation of their names would be.  After about a 15 minute wait, we are then through and officially in Vietnam.  Finally, an uneventful move into a new continent.
We had arranged for the hotel to have a van pick us up so that all of us would fit.  The van looked strangely like a Toyoto Corolla, but we all piled in and make our way to the hotel.  The north part of Vietnam is the more communist part of the country, and as we leave the airport there are big red signs promoting north Asian partnerships, with the Russian hammer and sickle being very noticeable.  The drive at first is very controlled, but as we get more into the city centre, the traffic rules become very confusing.  Glad for not renting a vehicle here.
At our hotel, our host keeps us in the lobby talking about our plans for half an hour.  Hotels in Vietnam not only provide accommodation, but they also are tourist booking offices.  He is very good and very helpful in making suggestions for us, and by the end of our half hour believe we have a fairly good plan for the next week and a half.  The boys are excellent and polite while waiting, but they are exhausted and it is 40 C.  We finally get up to our room.
Rules given to us for crossing the street.  Walk at a steady pace across the road so that the mopeds can swerve around you.  Do not stop and do not run, otherwise it messes their calculations up.  Avoid cars as they cannot swerve like a moped and could hit you.  Seems simple enough, but do we have it in us?  He then warns us of the pick pockets.  This is a constant reminder we get from many people. 
We head out to the bank, and feel very rich.  Pull out 5 million.  The exchange rate for is about 17 500 Dong for one Canadian dollar.  My conversion is 20 000 is $1.20 or 100 000 for $6.00.  This may take a bit of getting use to.  What I like, there are no coins so therefore no bulk.  Smallest bill, 1 000.
In the early evening, with it cooling down to about 35 C, we head out to find a meal.  We settle on a little shop by our hotel on the corner of a street.  Most restaurants have a wide assortment of furniture, from actual tables and chairs, to short little plastic stools that double as both table and chair.  The surroundings are hot and frantic, the meal is fantastic.  The bill, 170 000 Dong, or about $10 for food and a cold drink.  We then walk by the lake, stop for an ice cream and head back to the hotel.  Nate loved the food, Luke does not like the heat, and Levi is questioning the whole Asia thing.  Life is good!
 Asia in the first day is what I had hoped for.  From sleepy Darwin (and Australia for that matter) to the hectic everyday happenings of Asian life.  Feel very safe here, and even the heat is alright.  Better than the below 0 tempteratures of Amsterdam at the start of the trip.